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Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (12 February 1809 – 15 April 1865) was President of the United States from 4 March 1861 to 15 April 1865, succeeding James Buchanan and preceding Andrew Johnson; he previously served in the US House of Representatives (R-IL 7) from 4 March 1847 to 3 March 1849, succeeding John Henry and preceding Thomas L. Harris. A vocal opponent of slavery, Lincoln was the first Republican to hold the office of President, and his election to the presidency led to the secession of the American South to form the Confederacy. Lincoln led the Union in the ensuing American Civil War, and he was assassinated on the eve of final victory. Biography Early career Abraham Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on 12 February 1809, and he was raised on the frontier in Kentucky and Indiana. He became a lawyer after educating himself, and he also entered politics as an American Whig Party member, serving in the State House of Representatives before entering the US House of Representatives in 1847. Lincoln became unpopular due to his opposition to the Mexican-American War, but he returned to politics as the US Republican Party's leader in 1854. In 1858, he lost the Illinois senate race to Stephen A. Douglas of the US Democratic Party after engaging in a series of famous debates with him, but he became a celebrity for his arguments against slavery and states' rights. Presidency In 1860, Lincoln ran as the Republican presidential nominee, and he defeated Douglas and Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge to become the next President. Upon his election, eleven states in the American South seceded to form the pro-slavery Confederate States of America, and Lincoln remained the president of the remaining northern and western states. The Union fought against the CSA during the ensuing American Civil War of 1861-1865, and Lincoln originally sought only to preserve the union, with or without slavery. However, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, freeing all slaves in the United States, and the Union recruited African-American soldiers into the US Army. In 1864, Lincoln defeated Democratic challenger and former Union general George B. McClellan to secure re-election as president, and he made the Southern Democrat Andrew Johnson his vice-president. In January 1865, he oversaw the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, which would ensure that slavery was outlawed across the USA by constitutional law. Assassination On 14 April 1865, five days after the surrender of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House, Lincoln was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth while viewing the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in Washington DC. Booth then jumped down onto the trade and shouted Sic semper tyrannis, meaning "thus always to tyrants", and he went on the run before being hunted down and killed. Lincoln died of his wounds a day later, and Andrew Johnson succeeded him as president. Lincoln was the first president to have been assassinated (although some believe that Zachary Taylor was the first), and he is currently seen as one of the greatest American presidents due to his achievements. Gallery Lincoln London.jpeg|The statue of Lincoln in Parliament Square, London, 2020 Category:1809 births Category:1865 deaths Category:American presidents Category:Americans Category:Presidents Category:English-Americans Category:Protestants Category:American politicians Category:Politicians Category:Killed Category:Lawyers Category:Republican Party members Category:American liberals Category:Liberals Category:Abolitionists Category:Whig Party members Category:Union Category:Illinois Republicans Category:Kentucky Whigs Category:People from Kentucky Category:People from Illinois Category:American Protestants Category:Baptists Category:People from Hodgenville, Kentucky Category:People from Decatur, Illinois Category:People from Springfield, Illinois Category:People from Washington DC